103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3740

 

Introduced 2/17/2023, by Rep. Carol Ammons

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/10
110 ILCS 947/65.100

    Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Removes provisions specifically excluding academic programs for incarcerated students from the definitions of "institution of higher learning", "qualified institution", and "institution". In provisions concerning the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program, removes the restriction that the applicant must not be incarcerated.


LRB103 26178 RJT 52537 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3740LRB103 26178 RJT 52537 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
5amended by changing Sections 10 and 65.100 as follows:
 
6    (110 ILCS 947/10)
7    Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act, and except to the
8extent that any of the following words or phrases is
9specifically qualified by its context:
10    "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance
11Commission created by this Act.
12    "Enrollment" means the establishment and maintenance of an
13individual's status as a student in an institution of higher
14learning, regardless of the terms used at the institution to
15describe that status.
16    "Approved high school" means any public high school
17located in this State; and any high school, located in this
18State or elsewhere (whether designated as a high school,
19secondary school, academy, preparatory school, or otherwise)
20which in the judgment of the State Superintendent of Education
21provides a course of instruction at the secondary level and
22maintains standards of instruction substantially equivalent to
23those of the public high schools located in this State.

 

 

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1    "Institution of higher learning", "qualified institution",
2or "institution" means an educational organization located in
3this State which
4        (1) provides at least an organized 2 year program of
5    collegiate grade in the liberal arts or sciences, or both,
6    directly applicable toward the attainment of a
7    baccalaureate degree or a program in health education
8    directly applicable toward the attainment of a
9    certificate, diploma, or an associate degree;
10        (2) either is
11            (A) operated by this State, or
12            (B) operated publicly or privately, not for
13        profit, or
14            (C) operated for profit, provided such for profit
15        organization
16                (i) offers degree programs which have been
17            approved by the Board of Higher Education for a
18            minimum of 3 years under the Academic Degree Act,
19            and
20                (ii) enrolls a majority of its students in
21            such degree programs, and
22                (iii) maintains an accredited status with the
23            Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of
24            the North Central Association of Colleges and
25            Schools;
26        (3) in the judgment of the Commission meets standards

 

 

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1    substantially equivalent to those of comparable
2    institutions operated by this State; and
3        (4) if so required by the Commission, uses the State
4    as its primary guarantor of student loans made under the
5    federal Higher Education Act of 1965.
6For otherwise eligible educational organizations which provide
7academic programs for incarcerated students, the terms
8"institution of higher learning", "qualified institutions",
9and "institution" shall specifically exclude academic programs
10for incarcerated students.
11    "Academic year" means a 12 month period of time, normally
12but not exclusively, from September 1 of any year through
13August 31 of the ensuing year.
14    "Full-time student" means any undergraduate student
15enrolled in 12 or more semester or quarter hours of credit
16courses in any given semester or quarter or in the equivalent
17number of units of registration as determined by the
18Commission.
19    "Part-time student" means any undergraduate student, other
20than a full-time student, enrolled in 6 or more semester or
21quarter hours of credit courses in any given semester or
22quarter or in the equivalent number of units of registration
23as determined by the Commission. Beginning with fiscal year
241999, the Commission may, on a program by program basis,
25expand this definition of "part-time student" to include
26students who enroll in less than 6 semester or quarter hours of

 

 

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1credit courses in any given semester or quarter.
2    "Public university" means any public 4-year university in
3this State.
4    "Public university campus" means any campus under the
5governance or supervision of a public university.
6(Source: P.A. 100-587, eff. 6-4-18; 100-1015, eff. 8-21-18.)
 
7    (110 ILCS 947/65.100)
8    (Section scheduled to be repealed on October 1, 2024)
9    Sec. 65.100. AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program.
10    (a) The General Assembly makes all of the following
11findings:
12        (1) Both access and affordability are important
13    aspects of the Illinois Public Agenda for College and
14    Career Success report.
15        (2) This State is in the top quartile with respect to
16    the percentage of family income needed to pay for college.
17        (3) Research suggests that as loan amounts increase,
18    rather than an increase in grant amounts, the probability
19    of college attendance decreases.
20        (4) There is further research indicating that
21    socioeconomic status may affect the willingness of
22    students to use loans to attend college.
23        (5) Strategic use of tuition discounting can decrease
24    the amount of loans that students must use to pay for
25    tuition.

 

 

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1        (6) A modest, individually tailored tuition discount
2    can make the difference in a student choosing to attend
3    college and enhance college access for low-income and
4    middle-income families.
5        (7) Even if the federally calculated financial need
6    for college attendance is met, the federally determined
7    Expected Family Contribution can still be a daunting
8    amount.
9        (8) This State is the second largest exporter of
10    students in the country.
11        (9) When talented Illinois students attend
12    universities in this State, the State and those
13    universities benefit.
14        (10) State universities in other states have adopted
15    pricing and incentives that allow many Illinois residents
16    to pay less to attend an out-of-state university than to
17    remain in this State for college.
18        (11) Supporting Illinois student attendance at
19    Illinois public universities can assist in State efforts
20    to maintain and educate a highly trained workforce.
21        (12) Modest tuition discounts that are individually
22    targeted and tailored can result in enhanced revenue for
23    public universities.
24        (13) By increasing a public university's capacity to
25    strategically use tuition discounting, the public
26    university will be capable of creating enhanced tuition

 

 

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1    revenue by increasing enrollment yields.
2    (b) In this Section:
3    "Eligible applicant" means a student from any high school
4in this State, whether or not recognized by the State Board of
5Education, who is engaged in a program of study that in due
6course will be completed by the end of the school year and who
7meets all of the qualifications and requirements under this
8Section.
9    "Tuition and other necessary fees" includes the customary
10charge for instruction and use of facilities in general and
11the additional fixed fees charged for specified purposes that
12are required generally of non-grant recipients for each
13academic period for which the grant applicant actually
14enrolls, but does not include fees payable only once or
15breakage fees and other contingent deposits that are
16refundable in whole or in part. The Commission may adopt, by
17rule not inconsistent with this Section, detailed provisions
18concerning the computation of tuition and other necessary
19fees.
20    (c) Beginning with the 2019-2020 academic year, each
21public university may establish a merit-based scholarship
22pilot program known as the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program. Each
23year, the Commission shall receive and consider applications
24from public universities under this Section. Subject to
25appropriation and any tuition waiver limitation established by
26the Board of Higher Education, a public university campus may

 

 

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1award a grant to a student under this Section if it finds that
2the applicant meets all of the following criteria:
3        (1) He or she is a resident of this State and a citizen
4    or eligible noncitizen of the United States.
5        (2) He or she files a Free Application for Federal
6    Student Aid and demonstrates financial need with a
7    household income no greater than 6 times the poverty
8    guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by
9    the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the
10    authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2). The household income of
11    the applicant at the time of initial application shall be
12    deemed to be the household income of the applicant for the
13    duration of the pilot program.
14        (3) He or she meets the minimum cumulative grade point
15    average or ACT or SAT college admissions test score, as
16    determined by the public university campus.
17        (4) He or she is enrolled in a public university as an
18    undergraduate student on a full-time basis.
19        (5) He or she has not yet received a baccalaureate
20    degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit hours.
21        (6) (Blank). He or she is not incarcerated.
22        (7) He or she is not in default on any student loan or
23    does not owe a refund or repayment on any State or federal
24    grant or scholarship.
25        (8) Any other reasonable criteria, as determined by
26    the public university campus.

 

 

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1    (d) Each public university campus shall determine grant
2renewal criteria consistent with the requirements under this
3Section.
4    (e) Each participating public university campus shall post
5on its Internet website criteria and eligibility requirements
6for receiving awards that use funds under this Section that
7include a range in the sizes of these individual awards. The
8criteria and amounts must also be reported to the Commission
9and the Board of Higher Education, who shall post the
10information on their respective Internet websites.
11    (f) After enactment of an appropriation for this Program,
12the Commission shall determine an allocation of funds to each
13public university in an amount proportionate to the number of
14undergraduate students who are residents of this State and
15citizens or eligible noncitizens of the United States and who
16were enrolled at each public university campus in the previous
17academic year. All applications must be made to the Commission
18on or before a date determined by the Commission and on forms
19that the Commission shall provide to each public university
20campus. The form of the application and the information
21required shall be determined by the Commission and shall
22include, without limitation, the total public university
23campus funds used to match funds received from the Commission
24in the previous academic year under this Section, if any, the
25total enrollment of undergraduate students who are residents
26of this State from the previous academic year, and any

 

 

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1supporting documents as the Commission deems necessary. Each
2public university campus shall match the amount of funds
3received by the Commission with financial aid for eligible
4students.
5    A public university in which an average of at least 49% of
6the students seeking a bachelor's degree or certificate
7received a Pell Grant over the prior 3 academic years, as
8reported to the Commission, shall match 20% of the amount of
9funds awarded in a given academic year with non-loan financial
10aid for eligible students. A public university in which an
11average of less than 49% of the students seeking a bachelor's
12degree or certificate received a Pell Grant over the prior 3
13academic years, as reported to the Commission, shall match 60%
14of the amount of funds awarded in a given academic year with
15non-loan financial aid for eligible students.
16    A public university campus is not required to claim its
17entire allocation. The Commission shall make available to all
18public universities, on a date determined by the Commission,
19any unclaimed funds and the funds must be made available to
20those public university campuses in the proportion determined
21under this subsection (f), excluding from the calculation
22those public university campuses not claiming their full
23allocations.
24    Each public university campus may determine the award
25amounts for eligible students on an individual or broad basis,
26but, subject to renewal eligibility, each renewed award may

 

 

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1not be less than the amount awarded to the eligible student in
2his or her first year attending the public university campus.
3Notwithstanding this limitation, a renewal grant may be
4reduced due to changes in the student's cost of attendance,
5including, but not limited to, if a student reduces the number
6of credit hours in which he or she is enrolled, but remains a
7full-time student, or switches to a course of study with a
8lower tuition rate.
9    An eligible applicant awarded grant assistance under this
10Section is eligible to receive other financial aid. Total
11grant aid to the student from all sources may not exceed the
12total cost of attendance at the public university campus.
13    (g) All money allocated to a public university campus
14under this Section may be used only for financial aid purposes
15for students attending the public university campus during the
16academic year, not including summer terms. Notwithstanding any
17other provision of law to the contrary, any funds received by a
18public university campus under this Section that are not
19granted to students in the academic year for which the funds
20are received may be retained by the public university campus
21for expenditure on students participating in the Program or
22students eligible to participate in the Program.
23    (h) Each public university campus that establishes a
24Program under this Section must annually report to the
25Commission, on or before a date determined by the Commission,
26the number of undergraduate students enrolled at that campus

 

 

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1who are residents of this State.
2    (i) Each public university campus must report to the
3Commission the total non-loan financial aid amount given by
4the public university campus to undergraduate students in the
52017-2018 academic year, not including the summer term. To be
6eligible to receive funds under the Program, a public
7university campus may not decrease the total amount of
8non-loan financial aid it gives to undergraduate students, not
9including any funds received from the Commission under this
10Section or any funds used to match grant awards under this
11Section, to an amount lower than the reported amount for the
122017-2018 academic year, not including the summer term.
13    (j) On or before a date determined by the Commission, each
14public university campus that participates in the Program
15under this Section shall annually submit a report to the
16Commission with all of the following information:
17        (1) The Program's impact on tuition revenue and
18    enrollment goals and increase in access and affordability
19    at the public university campus.
20        (2) Total funds received by the public university
21    campus under the Program.
22        (3) Total non-loan financial aid awarded to
23    undergraduate students attending the public university
24    campus.
25        (4) Total amount of funds matched by the public
26    university campus.

 

 

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1        (5) Total amount of claimed and unexpended funds
2    retained by the public university campus.
3        (6) The percentage of total financial aid distributed
4    under the Program by the public university campus.
5        (7) The total number of students receiving grants from
6    the public university campus under the Program and those
7    students' grade level, race, gender, income level, family
8    size, Monetary Award Program eligibility, Pell Grant
9    eligibility, and zip code of residence and the amount of
10    each grant award. This information shall include unit
11    record data on those students regarding variables
12    associated with the parameters of the public university's
13    Program, including, but not limited to, a student's ACT or
14    SAT college admissions test score, high school or
15    university cumulative grade point average, or program of
16    study.
17    On or before October 1, 2020 and annually on or before
18October 1 thereafter, the Commission shall submit a report
19with the findings under this subsection (j) and any other
20information regarding the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program to (i)
21the Governor, (ii) the Speaker of the House of
22Representatives, (iii) the Minority Leader of the House of
23Representatives, (iv) the President of the Senate, and (v) the
24Minority Leader of the Senate. The reports to the General
25Assembly shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of
26Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate in electronic

 

 

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1form only, in the manner that the Clerk and the Secretary shall
2direct. The Commission's report may not disaggregate data to a
3level that may disclose personally identifying information of
4individual students.
5    The sharing and reporting of student data under this
6subsection (j) must be in accordance with the requirements
7under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of
81974 and the Illinois School Student Records Act. All parties
9must preserve the confidentiality of the information as
10required by law. The names of the grant recipients under this
11Section are not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of
12Information Act.
13    Public university campuses that fail to submit a report
14under this subsection (j) or that fail to adhere to any other
15requirements under this Section may not be eligible for
16distribution of funds under the Program for the next academic
17year, but may be eligible for distribution of funds for each
18academic year thereafter.
19    (k) The Commission shall adopt rules to implement this
20Section.
21    (l) This Section is repealed on October 1, 2024.
22(Source: P.A. 100-587, eff. 6-4-18; 100-1015, eff. 8-21-18;
23100-1183, eff. 4-4-19; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-613, eff.
246-1-20; 101-643, eff. 6-18-20; 101-654, eff. 3-8-21.)